Robert G. McCloskey
BornJanuary 8, 1916
Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin, U.S.
DiedAugust 4, 1969 (aged 53)
Peter Bent Brigham Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S
SpouseHelen Stueland
Children3, including Deirdre
Academic background
EducationUniversity of Wisconsin (BA)
Harvard University (PhD)

Robert Green McCloskey (8 January 1916 – 4 August 1969) was an American political historian.

Biography

Robert McCloskey originally studied at the University of Wisconsin, receiving an AB,[1] eventually completing his doctorate in political science at Harvard University, whose faculty he joined in 1948.[2] He was secretary of the Littauer Center of Public Administration until 1954, when Arthur Maass took the position.[3] He became an associate professor at the university in 1953, eventually settling as Professor of Government in 1958.[1]

McCloskey was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1959.[4] His book The American Supreme Court was the winner of the 1961 Award of the Contemporary Affairs Society.[1] In 1966, McCloskey was named Jonathan Trumbull Professor of American History and Government at Harvard. The position had been vacant since 1963, upon the death of V. O. Key.[5] McCloskey died on 4 August 1969.[6][7]

McCloskey's book American Conservatism in the Age of Enterprise was first published in 1951. The book was based on his doctoral dissertation,[8] and explored conservatism in the United States from the Reconstruction era to 1910, by considering the publications of William Graham Sumner, Stephen Johnson Field, and Andrew Carnegie.[9][10] The first edition of The American Supreme Court was published in 1961 as part of a series,[11] and described as "lucidly written, well-reasoned, and concise" by Robert J. Harris,[12] and "one of the best of a rare breed" by Paul W. Fox.[13] In 2011, Keith E. Whittington called it "the classic one-volume history of the Court."[14]

Robert McCloskey married Helen Stueland, with who he had 3 children (including economist Deirdre McCloskey) before dying at the Peter Bent Bridhamn Hospital (now part of the Brigham and Women's Hospital) in August 1969.[1] Following his death, a student of McCloskey's, Sanford Levinson, continued updating The American Supreme Court.[15] A third book by McCloskey, titled The Modern Supreme Court, was posthumously published in 1974.[16]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Robert McCloskey, 53; Harvard Professor". The Boston Globe. 1969-08-05. p. 36. Retrieved 2024-01-02.
  2. ^ Shapiro, Martin (1986). "Mccloskey, Robert G. (1916–1969)". Encyclopedia of the American Constitution. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  3. ^ "Maass Appointed as Littauer Secretary". Harvard Crimson. 18 May 1954. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  4. ^ "Robert G. McCloskey". John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  5. ^ "McCloskey Given Trumbull Chair; Math, Biology Professorships Filled". Harvard Crimson. 22 April 1966. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  6. ^ "Robert G. McCloskey 1916-1969". Harvard Crimson. 6 August 1968. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  7. ^ "Robert G. McCloskey, Professor Of History at Harvard, Is Dead". New York Times. 5 August 1968. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  8. ^ Bornet, Vaughn D. (1 March 1952). "Book Reviews : American Conservatism in the Age of Enterprise: A Study of William Graham Sumner, Stephen J. Field, and Andrew Carnegie. By ROBERT GREEN MCCLOSKEY. (Cambridge: Harvard University Press. 1951. Pp. xi, 193. $3.25.)". Political Research Quarterly. 5 (1): 150–151. doi:10.1177/106591295200500119. S2CID 153727558.
  9. ^ Redlich, Fritz (1 April 1952). "American Conservatism in the Age of Enterprise: A Study of William Graham Sumner, Stephen J. Field, and Andrew Carnegie. By Robert Green McCloskey. [Harvard Political Studies.] (Cambridge: Harvard University Press. 1951. Pp. xiii, 193. $3.25.)". The American Historical Review. 53 (3): 707–709. doi:10.1086/ahr/57.3.707.
  10. ^ Dodge, Guy Howard (June 1952). "American Conservatism in the Age of Enterprise; A Study of William Graham Sumner, Stephen J. Field and Andrew Carnegie. By Robert Green McCloskey. (Cambridge: Harvard University Press. 1951. Pp. xi, 193. $3.25.) - Brooks Adams; Constructive Conservative. By Thornton Anderson. (Ithaca: Cornell University Press. 1951. Pp. xiv, 250. $3.75.)". American Political Science Review. 46 (2): 561–563. doi:10.2307/1950853. JSTOR 1950853.
  11. ^ Swisher, Carl B. (June 1961). "The American Supreme Court. By Robert G. McCloskey. The Chicago History of American Civilization. Edited by Daniel J. Boorstin. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1960. xii + 260 pp. Bibliographical essay and index. $5.00.)". Journal of American History. 48 (1): 151–153. doi:10.2307/1902449. JSTOR 1902449.
  12. ^ Harris, Robert J. (1 July 1961). "ROBERT G. McCLOSKEY. The American Supreme Court. (The Chicago History of American Civilization.) Pp. x, 260. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1960. $5.00". The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. 336 (1): 179–180. doi:10.1177/000271626133600129. S2CID 143602148.
  13. ^ Fox, Paul W. (December 1961). "The American Supreme Court by Robert G. McCloskey (review)". The Canadian Historical Review. 42 (4): 343–344. doi:10.3138/chr-042-04-br10.
  14. ^ Whittington, Keith E. (December 2011). "Review: THE SUPREME COURT IN POLITICS". Reviews in American History. 39 (4): 631–636. doi:10.1353/rah.2011.0127. JSTOR 41348916. S2CID 143570668.
  15. ^ Magee, James (2007). "Book Review: Politics, Judicial Review and the Separation of Powers". The Journal of Legislative Studies. 13 (2): 320–325. doi:10.1080/13572330701335830. S2CID 155031773.
  16. ^ Stephenson, Jr., D. Grier (April 1974). "Book Review". Virginia Law Review. 60 (4): 728–733. doi:10.2307/1072419. JSTOR 1072419.
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